Wildfires continue to burn in Kansas. Here’s the latest update

Updated 2:45 p.m.:

Two firefighters were injured Tuesday fighting the largest wildfire in Kansas, which started around Beaver, Oklahoma, and went into Clark, Comanche and Meade counties.

One of those firefighters had minor burns and smoke inhalation, said Clark County Attorney Clay Kuhns, who is helping answer calls from the media. He didn’t know the cause of injuries for the other firefighter, but said both were taken to a hospital in Wichita and are expected to be OK.

He said two homes and a building adjacent to one of those were damaged by the fire. He thought they were completely destroyed. Many cattle have died as well, he said.

“I do know there has been quite a bit of cattle has been lost,” he said.

Hot sports were still being put out around Clark County.

“For the most part here, everything has been contained … just trying to make sure it is out,” he said.

At around 2:22 p.m., the Kansas Forest Service said the fire is still active.

“Resources have shifted to address a flare-up in Meade County,” the KFS said.

Meanwhile, Kuhns said, donations have already started to pour into Clark County.

“Businesses have stepped up. People have stepped up,” he said. “It’s what makes living in southwest Kansas so special.”

Donations can be dropped off or sent to the Stockgrower’s State Bank at 622 Main Street in Ashland. The ZIP code is 67831. Checks can be sent there and made out to the Ashland Community Foundation. People are asked to put “wildfire donation” in the memo line.

Original 11:45 a.m.:

Four wildfires that started Tuesday and spread quickly because of the high winds continued to burn Wednesday, the Kansas Forest Service said around 11 a.m.

The largest is the Ranger Road Fire, which was reported at 11 a.m. Tuesday just northeast of Beaver, Oklahoma, and then moved into Kansas.

Shawna Hartman, a spokesperson for the forest service, said around 11 a.m. Wednesday that fire is currently south of Protection, Kansas, in Comanche County.

“At this time, we don’t see anything that we can call contained,” she said.

That fire has burned roughly 145,000 acres in Oklahoma and Kansas and is 0% contained, the Oklahoma Forestry Services said around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

That fire led to evacuations in Englewood and Ashland on Tuesday.

Hartman said local officials would decide when evacuations would be lifted and report any damages and injuries. The Wichita Eagle reached out to Clark County Emergency Management on Wednesday morning, but has not yet received a response.

Hartman said she had not heard anything definite on damages.

Three firefighters were injured Tuesday in Oklahoma while fighting that fire when their fire truck rolled over, according to News9 in Oklahoma City. Hartman said she didn’t have any reports of firefighters injured in any of the fires in Kansas.

Fire crews plan to use aircraft today to try and map the fires and containment.

Here is a look at available details on other large fires in Kansas:

The Stevens Fire, which is southwest of Liberal after starting in Texas County, Oklahoma, has burned 5,500 acres in both states, Oklahoma Forestry Services said. In Kansas, forward progress was stopped last night, but it is still “burning actively in some woody areas and some draws,” Hartman said.

There is also a fire southeast of Liberal called the Andrew Lane fire.

“They do have some containment, we’re not sure at the percentage, but some containment has been, has some percentage has been gained on that fire,” Hartman said. “We will know better later on.”

A Garden City fire called the Tennis Road fire “was actively burning into the night and I haven’t gotten a good update on that today,” Hartman said.

She said there were other fires throughout the state Tuesday that didn’t require the involvement of the forest service.

One reported fire in Rawlins County in northwest Kansas required the town of Herndon to be evacuated for a few hours. Shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Rawlins County Sheriff’s Office said the evacuation was lifted and the fire was 80% contained.

This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 11:42 AM.